Health & Fitness

How to look good naked

Health & Fitness

How to look good naked

Unfortunately, we can't all be blessed with the long, lithe limbs, miniscule waist and perky boobs of, say, Cameron Diaz (check out her celebrity style here), but that's no reason to hide shamefully under a mu-mu or full-body swimsuit. We say dare to go bare! After all, you only live once, and body confidence is an important key to both looking and feeling good.

We get some tips from Connie Sobczak, co-founder of California-based The Body Positive, an organization helping people overcome body dissatisfaction. That's right; it is possible to love those thighs. Here's how to get started.

1. Stop negative thinkingSobczak suggests paying attention to what you're saying about your body in your head. "When you hear a negative tone, stop yourself." You have to honour who you are right now, in the present, not who you think you ought to be if you were a few pounds thinner.

Think about it this way: What would be going through your head if your partner suggested sex with all the lights on? If you're not happy with your body, chances are the romp will be anything but hot and heavy. You'll be too busy worrying about cellulite to relax and enjoy the ride. Trust us, an amazing orgasm trumps worries about hip-width or butt dimples any day!

2. Key into confidenceYou've heard it before, but the fact that happiness doesn't come from being a size zero is worth reiterating. "It's not what you look like, it's your life-force that attracts others," explains Sobczak. "The more confident you are, the more people will be attracted to you, regardless of your waist-size."

We're not saying a short skirt combined with long legs won't attract attention, but in the end, if you exude the self-confidence and energy of a genuinely happy person, people won't see you as fat or thin, Sobczak says. People will be attracted to what you have to offer -- your thoughts, ideas, sense of humour and intelligence. And a big bonus to feeling confident is that not only will you feel great in the buff, but you'll also look and feel fabulous in your new Arthur Mendonca ensemble. Forget that studded clutch; confidence is the new 'it' accessory!

3. Spread the bodily loveSobczak explains that if you dislike any part of you, then you can't be a complete person. Focusing on the parts we don't like makes it hard to really see ourselves as we truly are. To counteract the temptation to focus in on the wobbly bits, try looking into your eyes when checking yourself out in the mirror, she suggests.

"You need to send love to your whole body," she says. This may sound cheesy, but if you think about your thighs with disdain, how are you going to view them in the mirror next time you catch a glimpse? Probably with the same disdain you just thought about them with. If you stop yourself from hating on your hips, you may just be able to accept them. It's the only body you have, and if it works -- i.e.: allows you to walk, run and move with ease, then what's not to love? Be thankful for all your moving parts, no matter how big or small they are.

4. Make healthy choicesThe best thing you can do to look and feel good naked is take care of your health. This doesn't mean logging three hours a day on the elliptical trainer or moving in with your Pilates instructor. It means making healthy choices such asgetting enough sleep, staying hydrated, eating enough fruits and vegetables and moving, be it walking to work, running after a toddler or hiking on weekends. "Be active, stay active. We use our bodies to experience life," Sobczak says.

In her extensive experience helping people learn to love their bodies, people who love and accept themselves are far more likely to make healthy food choices, exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle.

For example, we know you love your new pair of Michael Kors ankle booties (so do we), which means you will take care of them. You will make sure they are stored somewhere your dog won't mistake them for chew toys; you will avoid wearing them in the snow. We take much better care of things we love. The same applies to our bodies, Sobczak says.

5. Embrace what makes you uniqueWhether it's the dimple in your chin, the fact one foot is bigger that the other or the giant birthmark on your lower back, learn to love what makes you, you. You can choose to look at things like this as negative, but do you really want to feel bad about yourself? We didn't think so. Sobczak cites her own issues with her thighs -- which she used to hate because they are big and muscular -- as an example. Now she can look at them with love. How? She realized they give pleasure whenever her husband touches them. "Why would I want them to go away?" she asks. Focus on how your body brings you joy, not what you dislike about it.

Trends

Meet our January 2017 cover girl: Canadian model Crista Cober

Canadian model (and star of our January fashion story) Crista Cober has been working in the industry for 12 years, but she’s still wrapping her head around the public’s desire to know about her inner life. “I’m a professional model, so I think, wait, ‘you also want to know about me?” explains the Wellesley, Ont. native over the phone, having just returned from a lookbook shot in Milan.

Lucky for us, Toronto-based Cober offers a glimpse at her day-to-day on her largely unfiltered, just-as-I-am Instagram feed, where the model’s nine-month old daughter Lou makes the odd (adorable) appearance. Over the course of our chat, Cober opened up about motherhood, rebellion and yes, modelling.

Tell me about your day shooting for the cover of ELLE Canada's January issue.

“It was the quintessential Canadian vibe—a true collaboration. The location [Crown Flora Studio] was beautiful; it was like breathing in the tropics. I shot with [the photographer] Max Abadian 12 years ago. It was my very first shoot. So that was a very special moment. And I got to have my daughter on set.”

“Yes. I’m less inclined to say yes to some amazing projects. It’s much harder; I used to go from one job to the next, to the next. And now I have to be a lot more selective.”

Other than your schedule, what factors make you say yes?

“The people. I value my time, and to be away from someone I think is the greatest person on the planet, I want to make sure that I’m working with the right people. After 12 years, I have a better judge of things,”

How else have you evolved as a model in 12 years?

“I feel like I can collaborate a bit more with the people running the ship. I can be a bit more involved. I think now there’s a bit more of an interest in who I am as a person, rather than just what I look like. I’m not sure I like that yet.”

So how do you feel about that? It sounds like it plays into today’s phenomenon of the Insta-model.

“I’m in my 30s now, so I feel like I kind of skipped it. I like to use Instagram to post the pictures of what I want to show, as opposed to letting it have anything to do with work. Once I did a fragrance shoot, I understood that ‘now you’re the face!’ There was a lot of PR, a lot of hype. I had a moment of feeling like I wanted to keep my business and my life separate.

Would you say you’re shy?

“I had an amazing agent when I started in Toronto. I learned that this is a business and you’re self-employed. At the end of the day, you run you. There are a lot of beautiful faces out there, but there are less kind people. I approached going into my agency as my biggest casting. I wouldn’t say I’m shy, but I’m professional.”

Do you feel like this isn’t what you singed up for when you started?

“I was lucky to be able to stop modelling and come back. When I first started skateboarding, everyone thought that was really cool and wanted to incorporate it [into shoots]. And I was like, ‘this is just my mode of transportation because my bike got stolen! ‘I’m not a skater!”

Do you still skateboard?

“Yeah. Everywhere.”

What’s your advice to young models?

“Just love yourself so much for you! The business is always changing; something that doesn’t fit one day will fit another day.”

How did you start modelling?

“I was scouted by an incredible model scout, Anthony Gordon. He was an amazing ballet dancer and he had an eye for faces. He wasn’t a scout at the time, but we went to the same high school, 10 years apart. He found my picture in a yearbook. 5 days later he bumped into me at a shopping mall and when I told him my name, he said, ‘you will not believe this!’ and told me the story and took me to Elmer Olsen. Then I did my first editorial and that was the start."

Was there a point when you thought to yourself “wow, I’m a model. This is my career now.”

“No, I think that took a couple of years. I remember [the agency] showing me Daria on the cover of Vogue and explaining that that was my potential, then I went straight to New York, and from there to Paris.”

What made you stop modelling for a while?

“I came from an athletic background and I was a swimmer. The agency in Paris sent me back immediately because they said I was too big. I came back to Canada, and I thought, ‘this is my body.’ It was the size of my hands and my wrists [that they talked about].”

How did it feel to hear that?

“It made me stronger, more rebellious. But it gave me the opportunity to stop, and start again. When I was 21 I stopped for four months and I went to South America.”

Do you have any hopes or goals for your career?

“An amazing beauty contract or something that sets up 6o days of the year. Before I didn’t want to know what was coming up the next month. Now I love the idea of having more of a set schedule.”

So what does life look like right now?

“For now, I’m just enjoying. My daughter travels so well, and my husband works from home. So on the days we have nothing, we’re just exploring Toronto.”

The trailer for the new Baywatch movie is here

Movies & TV

The trailer for the new Baywatch movie is here

You know what your Thursday needs? This teaser trailer for the Baywatch reboot, that's what.

Now, we could extoll the virtues of this clip—The Rock! Zac Efron's abs! The Rock and Zac Efron's abs on a moped together!—but that would deprive you of the joy of experiencing this surprisingly funny clip with fresh eyes yourself.

Celebrity

The Madonna Carpool Karaoke is here in all its glory

This Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke really needs no introduction. Madonna did what she did best – slay – on the segment with James Corden. In fact, she might be the only celebrity so far who did a full-body performance in her seat, complete with leg kicks and twerks.

The first woman on a Canadian bank note has been named

Art & Design

The first woman on a Canadian bank note has been named

There's an excting (and long overdue TBH) change coming to Canada's $10 bills: They will now feature the face of an extraordinary Canadian woman.

The shortlist for the spot was announced earlier this year, and included the suffragette Idola Saint-Jean and Olympian Bobbie Rosenfeld, but it was civl rights activist Viola Desmond who the Bank of Canada ultimately chose for the prime spot on our blue bank note.

It was for such a time as this that Heritage Minutes were created, so we'll refer you to the spot released about Ms. Desmond last year for the full primer on the Nova Scotia native (but the TL:DR version is that she was an entrepreneur ahead of her time who played a pivotal role in the Canadian civil rights struggle):